The second half of the 2024 MiLB season has officially begun, and some players decided that they wanted to be in the spotlight.
This past week, we got to see a plethora of action, from walk-off home runs to great pitching performances to our own writers being invited to help commentate an Aberdeen IronBirds game.
With that said, here is the first edition of O’s Prospects of the Week for the second half of the 2024 season.
Delmarva Shorebirds: Aron Estrada – INF / Blake Money – RHP
Aron Estrada decided that he wanted another Player of the Week honor with the Shorebirds. After being a very effective and hot hitter in May, that did not change at all when we entered the month of June.
This week in five games, Estrada slashed .466/.466/.667 with a 1.133 OPS. He had seven hits, three doubles and knocked in three RBIs.
Estrada has played in 66 games with Delmarva and is slashing .290/.350/.440 with a .790 OPS, compiling 73 hits, 13 doubles, two triples and seven home runs. He has 34 RBIs and has stolen 22 bases in 26 attempts.
Moving on to the pitching side for the Shorebirds, the decision to pick one singular player was very difficult. Many pitchers performed so well this week, but I think that Blake Money took the cake.
Money grabbed a win in relief, going five strong innings of shutout baseball and only giving up one hit. The former LSU Tiger also struck out six batters.
Money has been, well, money on the mound this season. In 14 games and seven starts, the 22-year-old righty has a 4.28 ERA in 54.2 innings of work. He has struck out 65 batters, given up 26 earned runs and has only walked 15 batters, as he’s held batters to a .235 average and compiled a WHIP of 1.19.
Aberdeen IronBirds: Douglas Hodo – OF / Michael Forret – RHP
Douglas Hodo takes home his first Baltimore Battery Prospect of the Week honor for his efforts against the Brookyn Cyclones.
The speedy outfielder notched five hits in his 13 at-bats. He added six steals to bring his season total to 30, as well as adding seven, yes seven, walks in this series.
To make those seven walks even more impressive, Hodo only struck out three times, improving his on-base percentage to .397 on the season.
Michael Forret logged one of his best starts of the season, a scoreless five-inning effort on June 25.
It was his fifth outing to last at least five innings, as well as being the second straight scoreless appearance for Forret. His four strikeouts in this outing put him at 69 for the year in just 54.1 innings pitched.
Bowie Baysox: Matthew Etzel – OF / Kyle Brnovich – RHP
After being a superstar in Aberdeen, Matthew Etzel has shown out heavy in Bowie, and that did not change this past series.
Etzel played in six games and slashed .300/.375/.600 with a .975 OPS, collecting six hits, three extra-base hits, including a triple and home run, and knocked in three RBIs. He also stole a base and walked three times.
Etzel has been an offensive force this season, batting .298 throughout his time in Aberdeen and Bowie. The Southern Mississippi product has 57 hits, 13 doubles, five triples and six home runs this season while knocking in 42 RBIs. Etzel has also been a speedster, stealing 37 bases in 46 attempts.
When you think about someone like Kyle Bradish, you think about the trade that happened to acquire the right-hander with the Los Angeles Angels. Well, in that same trade came another Kyle in Kyle Brnovich, and he has been a stud in the minors this year.
This past series, Brnovich grabbed a win while striking out seven batters in five innings of work. He did give up four hits and two earned runs, but he still put on a great show.
Brnovich has spent his entire 2024 season with the Baysox and has been the ace of the staff. In 14 games and nine starts, Brnovich has a 3.88 ERA in 58 innings on the mound and has struck out 69 batters. He has held batters to a .190 average, giving up just 40 hits.
Norfolk Tides: Coby Mayo – INF / Justin Armbruester – RHP
It’s easy to see how much Norfolk missed Coby Mayo when he was out with a fractured rib.
This week against the Charlotte Knights, Mayo extended his on-base streak to nine games while going 8-for-18 (.444) at the dish. Of Mayo’s eight hits, he collected a double and three home runs, picking up eight RBIs, 18 total bases and scoring eight runs.
Mayo has improved his slashing numbers to .317/.393/.674/1.067 with 20 home runs and 54 RBIs across 57 games. The most impressive stat is that Mayo has totaled 72 hits this season, with 68% of them going for extra bases (20 home runs, 17 doubles and two triples).
Justin Armbruester has struggled this year, to say the least. He has earned just one victory across 16 games (15 starts) and has posted an ERA of 8.36 with a WHIP of 1.63.
Armbruester would come out and put on his best performance of the season against Charlotte. Though he didn’t factor into the decision, the Orioles 20th ranked prospect put the Tides in the position to win.
Armbruester would complete six innings for only the second time this season while allowing four hits and no runs with five strikeouts.
The Tides ended up winning in 11 innings 1-0, but it was Armbruester’s start that enabled the Tides to eventually pull out the victory. Hopefully, this game is a turning point for the young righty’s season and sparks more outings like this going forward.
Which prospects stood out to you the most this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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